Shingle bells!

My mama has shingles! She has cancer, a cough that doesn’t seem to want to part with her, and now she has shingles!

Three days ago, Mama complained about some rashes she felt on her back. I thought it was some insect bite, or an allergic reaction to something—she has been having so much allergies lately—although I hadn’t encountered such kind of rashes before. She said it was bothering her and it ached, especially when it was hot--and it was always humid. I told her not to scratch the spot so she won't cut her skin, and she said she did not. So I rubbed some ointment to alleviate the burning sensation.

The next day, however, there was another set of the same rashes on her chest, and the ones on her back ‘grew’ and became lesions with fluid in them. They looked like chicken pox, but they were confined in specific parts of her body—on the right part of her back, and on her chest. Although at that time, the ones on her chest were still red rashes. I was afraid it might complicate things for her since she has cancer and she’s taking some medicines. So I told her to see a doctor. She said she planned to see a dermatologist the next day. But I feared the skin disorder might be a reaction to femara she has been taking, so I looked it up on the internet. And there, I saw, it was shingles. At least all the symptoms fit. So I sent message to her oncologist describing to him Mama’s condition, just to verify. He confirmed it, and told me to have Mama see him for further check-up and prescription.

The next day, off my Mama with my sister went to her oncologist, and she was given acyclovir tablet and acyclovir ointment. Immediately, she started with her medication. This morning, though, I caught her preparing for bed. I thought she had fever but she said was just sleepy. The previous night, she hadn’t been able to sleep. Her shingles bothered her. She couldn’t find the right sleeping position. Her lesions would become painful when they touch anything, let alone be crushed as she lay down. I had told her to sleep on the waterbed, thinking the coolness of the bed would help her sleep. Obviously, it didn’t. Even as she was about to lie down, she changed her mind, saying, she still wouldn’t be able to sleep. So I took a washcloth, wet it with cold water and pressed it into her lesions. It relieved her a bit.

Now that night is here again, all I can do is hope Mama can sleep soundly.

Confusing treatments

Bad mystery movies can be quite distressing. It gets you on edge one moment but keeps you in the dark, and in the end, it proves to be nothing but a disappointment.

This business of searching for a cure for cancer can be like that. Not having known any answer, you get a bit excited when you stumble on something that appears to lead you to the truth, only to find yourself more confused than ever.

Maybe the situation would be different if you were a doctor. At least, you get to look at the actual condition of the patients, and you get to see the “physical evidence”—that is, the cancer cells and everything else that might be useful.

But if you were just a lay person like me, who relies only on the “findings” of those who studied the disease, you have one heck of a hard time studying all the studies, analyses, and findings of the “experts”. You know why? Because these “experts” have different ways of looking at things. They have different approaches, different beliefs, different practices. So it is no wonder then, that they come up with different answers. It would have been okay if their findings are on the same direction—well, they’re not. Some conclusions even contradict one another, to the point that these experts attack one another’s theories and claim that his theory is the right one.

Take mammogram and biopsy, for instance. I’ve read in some literatures that these are the basic steps in diagnosing cancer. But then, other literatures would say mammogram may lead to breast cancer, and biopsy may spread cancer. Which should I trust, then?

Once I browsed the Net for some recipes for my cancer warrior Mama. I stumbled upon some recipes that have soy and milk and yogurt. Well, I had read some days back that these ingredients are not suitable for cancer patients.

Whew! This is really a test of my wits.

Sometimes, in my frustration, I would feel better I was better off not having read any of these stuff. I might not have gotten my brains all tied in different knots. On the other hand, there really are things that I have found useful in my search.

Well, I guess you just have to keep your power of discretion intact and use it whenever necessary. For after all, nothing is guaranteed in this life. You just have to make the most of what you learn and pray for the best.